The Master's Blog
Message from The Master:
Forthcoming event:
In reverse chronological order:
15. July 20, 2010 Buckingham Palace Garden Party
To Buckingham Palace for the Garden Party with the Mistress Pipemaker and my son Liveryman Alexander Keevil. Weather was perfect and it was the expected cast of thousands. We met several fellow Masters and surprisingly we were taken aside and asked if we would like to be introduced to Prince Philip .Needless to say we acquiesced. Prince Philip was absolutely charming as always , talked to me about Pipemakers in England , to the Mistress about horses and to my son , the special needs teacher, whether he was making an impression on his students . Shortly thereafter the Mistress met the Duchess of Cornwall. I have to say there was a gathering of Masters on the side wondering what the Pipemakers Livery secret was. Last year the Master met Her Majesty the Queen and this year we met Prince Philip. We then had time to walk around the gardens that are truly magnificent.
14. July 15
To St Paul’s Chapel of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor for the Knights
Bachelor Service of Dedication followed by a reception at Saddlers’ Hall as the
guest of the Knight Principal , Sir Robert Balchin. The service was St Paul’s
at its best. A superb choir, Trumpeters of the Royal Yeomanry, a procession of
Knights and Priests in their magnificent robes, The Gentleman Usher of the Imperial
Society with a Pennon Bearer, well known hymns and an address by the magnificent
Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. Four Knights were recognized including a
past Lord Mayor and three eminent scientists. The reception at Saddlers was superb.
13. July12
To the Central Criminal Court as the Guest of the Chairman of the Sheriffs and Recorders Fund Annual General Meeting and Reception.
12. July 8
To the Painter- Stainers Hall for my first General Purposes Committee Meeting. In spite of the extreme heat in London, the Agenda was covered without much as and following a sandwich lunch with the Committee we then handed over the room to the Trustees of the Benevolent Funds.
11. July 7
To the Fan Makers as a guest at their Court Dinner held at Skinners’ Hall as the Guest of their Master .I was greeted at the door by our own Beadle Ted Hall who is also the Fan Makers Beadle. A most entertaining dinner in a delightful setting. Toasts were provided by the CO of their Affiliated Regiment, 217 ( London) Field Squadron –Explosive Ordinance Disposal, who has soldiers dealing with IED’s in Afghanistan . Their work was brought home when it was mentioned one of their members had been killed in Afghanistan. The Response for the Guests was by Group Captain Ian Bell ( RAF Rtd.) the MD from CAE Aircrew Training Plc who deals with Pilot Training for the services. He offered for four people a day on the helicopter simulators that are used to train pilots for Afghanistan. Pumas, Apaches and the like .The Clerk had to arrange an auction that I suspect will be well oversubscribed. The same night following the Dinner the Master and his Wardens were going on their affiliated Royal Navy Ship to present the Honorary Freedom to the Captain while steaming( !) through the English Channel.
10. July 1
To a Livery Gala Evening put on by the Plumbers and Glaziers in aid of Help for Heroes. Guest speaker was General Sir Richard Dannett, late Chief of the General Staff, who spoke on the Help for Heroes and he explained how with fifty million pounds already raised this has significantly benefitted the rehabilitation of injured service men and women. The Evening commenced with a Champagne reception in Guildhall Yard with a Mess Beating Ceremony by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines with General Dannatt taking the salute. Needless to say the Marines performed flawlessly. A very lively dinner was held in the Old Library with the Master Plumber and Glazier acting in concert as if, to use their own words, they were Morecombe and Wise or the two Ronnies. They had brought in an auctioneer of some repute who started the evening off by having us play Heads and Tails a fund raising amusing exercise that I had not seen in years. The site of General Dannatt and the high and mighty from the City participating had to be seen to be believed. Humour apart this first fund raising exercise raised over two thousand pounds. Before and during dinner we were entertained by four singers from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. One soprano, one mezzo soprano, one tenor, one bass baritone and one piano accompanist .They brought the house down and encores were required. Following the Loyal Toasts there was a raffle, auction and silent auction with donated prizes varying from a Jeroboam of Pol Roger Champagne to an all expenses paid weekend in Nice. Overall the evening raised thirty nine thousand pounds .The evening concluded with the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines performing the Sunset Ceremony as the Union Jack was lowered. It is always a very moving event.
9. June 30
To Tandridge Golf Club to present the prizes for the Company Golf Day. It was superbly organized by Derek Harris .I had offered to play but after they heard my handicap it was suggested that attending Luncheon would be sufficient. Weather was hot but the twenty participants survived. A superb Luncheon followed with the choice of beef, pork or lamb followed by Tandridge Pudding. The results were as follows. Winner Adrian Marshall of BAT, second Ian Panto, third David Walter, longest drive Simon Orlik, and closest to the pin Chris Brown, a guest.
Back to London for a quick change and on to Stationers Hall as guest of Geoffrey Bond, Chairman of the Livery Committee of the City of London After a reception in the courtyard where we drew numbers out of a hat to decide seating .Then myself and fellow Masters entered in to the Hall that had just survived a fire in the Hall that could have destroyed the building but for the quick response of the London Fire Service. You could see the damage to an ancient screen and the walls and ceilings. The Master Stationer had decided the show must go on.
The Guest Speaker was The Right Honorable the Lord Judge, The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Other guests apart from the Masters, Prime Wardens and Clerks included The Lady Mayoress, The Chief Commoner and sundry Aldermen. A delightful evening was held by all.
8. June 29
To The Mansion House as guest of Colonel Ewen Cameron and the City of London Reserve Forces and Cadet Associations for a reception and a presentation on the Reserves and Cadets. Following this, the CO of the Forth Rifles did a presentation of the six months Forth Rifles had spent in Helmand .The pictures really brought to life the grim conditions the soldiers endured, but always in maintaining a sense of humour.
7. June 24
To the Election of the Sheriffs at Guildhall with the 107 other Masters and Prime Wardens. We all robed up in The Old Library. Quite a sight to see all the Beadles and Clerks scurrying round to find and robe their Master or Prime Warden. We then processed into Guildhall and at twelve sharp the Lord Mayor arrived with his Sheriffs and entourage.
The election was fortunately uncontested this year and elected were from the Aldermen, Fiona Wolf. Her Livery Companies include the Solicitors, Builders Merchants, Plumber and Wax Chandlers. From the Livery Richard Sermon, a Wheelwright, was elected .Fiona Wolf made a very gracious speech, pointing out that she is only the third female Sheriff since Anglo Saxon times.
Following the Election Nick Hallings-Pott then had Luncheon as the guest of the Master Founder at Founders Hall .Prior to lunch, Pimms was served to the guests outside in the churchyard of St Bartholomew’s Church .The church is well known as being in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Following Luncheon Nick then interviewed me for the Livery Magazine.
6. June 22
To the Association of Independent Tobacco Specialists Luncheon at Lord’s for the Livery Award presentation to the Retailer of the year. Firstly there was a reception in the Harris Gardens where it was possible to meet many form the Trade and then for luncheon in the Long Room. A delightful time was had by all , superbly organized by Liveryman Roger Merton and his team . The Loyal Toast was made by the President of AITS , Liveryman David Shelton. The guest speaker was the comedian and impersonator Bobby Davro who was very funny, although the three ladies from the guests he brought up to sing as his back up were somewhat embarrassed to be chosen -but they held their own. The winner of the Livery Trophy was a Retailer from Bury . Chris Aston who has been in the business thirty years. As he was unable to attend , Arthur Robb , from Gawith Hoggarth received the trophy and the prize. The Luncheon was concluded by David Shelton’s mother, ninety this week , thanked everyone from the Trade for all the help she had had over her years in the business.
5. June 17
The Mistress and I, along with my clerk Barbara Hines and her husband Trevor. were guests of the Master of the Scientific Instrument Makers for their Annual Dinner at Goldsmiths Hall .It was a glittering evening and we were made most welcome by the Master and his Mistress and many of the Past Masters. Also in attendance was Sherriff Peter Cook, along with the Masters of the Glaziers, Spectacle Makers, Glass Sellers, and Launderers. Mark Prisk MP, the new Minister of State for Business and Enterprise was also in attendance .The guest speaker was Sir Anthony Cleaver. It was delightful evening and an excellent way for the Mistress and I to start our year .The Cantabile String Quartet from the Guildhall School of Music entertained us during dinner.
4. June 15 and June 16
With Past Master George Lankaster, Senior Warden Fiona Adler and Assistant Clerk and Treasurer Simon Orlik, we met in Painter Stainers Hall to interview candidates for a new Clerk .Our current Clerk is regrettably stepping down due to ill health. The candidates were all outstanding.
3. June 12
We were divided into four busses of around 40 people in each and then firstly visited the Iron Bridge; the first ever cast iron bridge, then to the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, with many exhibits from the Great Exhibition. This was followed by an excellent lunch and then off to the Coal port China Museum. We finished the day by visiting Blists Hill Victorian Town. A beautiful working town set in a time warped 1900.It was possible to have a pint or two in pre-decimal currency and price. I was delighted to see several enamel tobacco signs on the walls but regrettably we did not get a chance to visit our Brosely Pipe Museum. I will be asking the Senior Warden to see if it can be on next years’ agenda as it is a magnificent museum and the other Liveries should be given an opportunity to see it.
2. June 11
Off to Ironbridge in Staffordshire, the foundation of the Industrial Revolution, .Attendees for the weekend were a large proportion of the Masters, Prime Wardens and their Mistresses, attended by their Clerks. First off was dinner in Coalbrookdale in a restored factory building when there was an excellent opportunity to meet many of the Masters and Prime Wardens.
1. June 10 Installation Day
Following the Court Meeting when also my son Alexander and my nephew were elected to the Livery, I was given the honour of being elected Master of the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipemakers and Tobacco Blenders .Fiona Adler was elected to Senior Warden and Michael Prideaux Renter Warden. Unfortunately Gareth Davis and John Nokes who were to be elected Third and Forth Warden could not attend and they will be elected at the next meeting .After my election I was delighted to be able to present the Mistress’s badge to my wife Mary.
Following a Reception a delicious dinner was served .Grace was said by my Fellow Poulter , The Reverend Ray Trudgeon who said grace first in English and then as a surprise for the Immediate Past Master , John Alexander , in Hebrew .Dinner was followed by speeches by Jeremy Merton for the guests , Bartholomew Broadbent proposing the Master’s health after to which I was able to respond .We then presented the Past Masters Badge to John Alexander who then in turn presented the new Past Master’s Mistress’s Badge to his wife Jackie. Wine for dinner included a delightful 2005 Graves that the Company had acquired en primeur. We finished the meal with Bartholomew Broadbent’s own brand of Madeira .Music was provided by students from the Guildhall School of music and Drama. Piano for the Loyal Toast and during the loving cup by Jennifer Carter and after dinner a jazz trio led by Katherine Roberts on saxophone, one of own outstanding scholars, with Tom Fyfe on drums and Darren McCarthy.
Dinner was followed by a stirrup cup that allowed many of the attendees to visit with old friends. My Clerk, Barbara Hines had provided a memorable evening for all of us.
